


In A Place Where the Sun Shines Brightest

by lucavale



Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Graduation, Kissing, Late Night Conversations, Late at Night, Rain, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-11
Updated: 2015-07-11
Packaged: 2018-04-08 18:05:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4315047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucavale/pseuds/lucavale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Celestia decides to sleep in Kyoko's dorm room - maybe for the last time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In A Place Where the Sun Shines Brightest

**Author's Note:**

> AU-ish. Hope's Peak did not close, everything's going fine, and in a few days, the kids are gonna graduate.

**In A Place Where the Sun Shines Brighter**

The downpour was amazing. Terrifying, but still absolutely remarkable. The rain had refused to let up over the past few days, and the sound of it falling in sheets and pattering against the window almost always lulled Kyoko to sleep. The rainy season, for some reason, came early, though Kyoko herself wasn’t one to complain. If anything, the weather gave her more excuses to brew a pot of coffee and sit alone in her dorm room all day, reading.

Kyoko looked out at the window, a gloved hand pressed against the glass. Raindrops trickled down on the other side, leaving trails on the window, trails that blurred the city lights outside. It wasn’t too loud, but she could hear the wind howling, cacophonous against the sound of car horns a short distance away, into the bustling center of the city. Hope’s Peak was a prestigious institution, and had to be visible – but not smack dab in the middle that it had to be subjected to the city’s traffic jams and unending activity.

She sighed. A few more days. Everyone in her class only had to wait a few more days before they were sent out into the world again – the most distinguished young men and women in their areas of expertise, ready to share the talents – already remarkable, made even more so – that Hope’s Peak had cultivated over the past few years. A few more days until they _graduated._ The thought excited Kyoko, just as much as it made her nervous, though she, compared to her classmates, had a much better time hiding her unease. They were all presumably very much accomplished already, but _then_ what? Ultimate Baseball Star, Ultimate Pop Star, Ultimate Moral Compass… such lofty titles for people so young, people who have yet to grow out of their teen years and clear the second decade of their lives. They were all remarkable, true, but what need did the world have of them? They’d be nothing but curiosities. Products of an academy that drew on their talents and used them as lab rats. They were all experimental setups, kept under the watchful eye of Hope’s Peak’s scientists and educators, almost completely isolated from the world.

Not that they were prisoners. The students of Class 78 had been allowed to go out into the city every now and then, but much of their time had been spent within the campus. Besides, they had little reason to go out. Hope’s Peak had _everything_ that a student needed. None of them ever truly felt compelled to leave the campus gates. None of them, except…

Kyoko turned around at the sound of urgent raps on her room’s door. She glanced at the digital clock on her bedside table: 10:37PM. Nighttime. Though the students weren’t forbidden to roam around the residential halls past ten in the evening, they were discouraged. Hall monitors went around every half hour to check if someone was engaged in any sort of unseemly activity within the hallways. There were even ones stationed by the stairs, making sure that all girls were in the girls’ dorms on the third floor, and all boys were in the boys’ dorms on the fourth. Anyone caught creeping around the opposite sex’s dorm floor would be subjected to the proper punishment. Anyone was allowed to go to the same sex’s rooms, however, though that was still discouraged.

Nevertheless, it never stopped _her._

Kyoko walked over to her door, turning the knob and pulling it open. Celestia stood in the hallway, still in her school uniform, though divested of the black jacket she was too fond of wearing. Without a word, Kyoko stepped aside, letting the other girl in. She locked the door behind her.

“It’s quite late, don’t you think?” Kyoko remarked, as she followed Celestia, who sat on Kyoko’s bed. Kyoko leaned against the wooden desk that stood beside her bed, eyes still on the other girl.

“Not that it ever mattered before,” Celestia said. “Please take off my hair ties.”

It was one of the things that defined Celestia Ludenberg – the fact that she expected people to do as she commanded. Even among Hope’s Peak’s curiosities, _she_ was a curiosity, insisting on putting a gothic spin on her uniform, wearing a lot of make-up, even speaking in a faux French accent and using a name that she claimed _was_ her birth name. She was a curiosity that had piqued Kyoko’s interest since the first day. She was the Ultimate Gambler – not quite as much of a talent as the others, but gambling took luck _and_ skill, and Celestia had to have an inordinate amount of both to win cash. Kyoko had respected her from the beginning, admiring her attitude, admiring her attempts to hide her real emotions. Not quite as successful as Kyoko, with whom hiding emotions was second nature, but still admirable. An evening of accidentally being locked in together in the study hall had made them friends. A few nights spent in each other’s rooms had made them more.

It started out as experimentation for both of them. They were teenagers, weren’t they? And they did what came naturally. Besides, both had always been curious – about their bodies and about others’ bodies. It just so happened that the… traditional, so to speak, means, of satisfying that curiosity was cordoned off by vigilant hall monitors. Not that either of them were keen to spend time with Class 78’s young men. They were respectful, true, and fun to be with, but they were all, to Kyoko’s eyes, friends – brothers, even – and she had little wish of dealing with them in _that_ way.

For Celestia, meanwhile, the one advantage that Kyoko had over everyone else was that Celestia didn’t hate her, or detest her, or dislike her in anyway, even just a bit. She had always thought of Kyoko as more intelligent than the rest, and therefore worthy of her time. She felt sorry for Kyoko sometimes, who was a direct relative of Hope’s Peak’s headmaster, because _she_ got dragged into Celestia’s messes – sneaking out of the academy late at night to participate in gambling activities along the city’s main street, asking her to hide abnormal amounts of cash in her closet… for Kyoko, who always leaned to the side of truth, it was difficult. But Kyoko had found that for Celestia, it was sometimes alright to bend the rules.

And sometimes alright to follow her orders.

“I’m waiting, Kirigiri,” Celestia said. Kyoko shrugged, and complied to Celestia’s request, removing the hairpiece that the girl loved to wear, taking off the ties that bound her hair into pigtails. Celestia’s dark hair spilled all over Kyoko’s hands. Kyoko took her time to run her fingers through Celestia’s hair. Celestia sighed, closing her eyes. Outside, the rain continued to fall hard.

“What brings you here?” Kyoko asked, after a while. She sat down beside Celestia. Their fingers brushed against each other.

“I seem to have a hard time trying to fall asleep.”

Celestia’s fingers twined with Kyoko’s. Against the material of the gloves, Kyoko could feel the metallic, claw-like ring that Celestia always wore. Celestia frowned.

“I certainly hope you’re planning to take those gloves off soon.”

Without a word, Kyoko stripped off her gloves, setting the pair on the bedside table. She wore them to hide the scars that marked the skin of her hands, but Celestia preferred them off, although she _did_ respect Kyoko’s desire to have them on most of the time. As always, though, and as Kyoko had learned over the past few months, she could always make allowances for Celestia, who wasn’t actually always as calm and composed as she pretended to be.

Kyoko felt Celestia hold her hand again. It felt cold.

“Celeste. Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”

“You assume that something _is_ wrong.”

“I do, and if your hands are any indication, I assumed right.”

Celestia grunted. Then she let out a breath. “Can I sleep here for tonight?”

“Certainly. But that hardly answers my question,” Kyoko said. Celestia let go of Kyoko’s hand, as she took off her shoes. Kyoko watched Celestia as she stood up, drew the curtains close, and proceeded to strip herself of her clothing. The movements were precise, as if Celestia was hounded by the constant fear of wrinkling her clothing. The skirt was off. The stockings. Celestia eased off her necktie. She put all the clothes – folded neatly, smoothed evenly – on the reading chair beside Kyoko’s bookshelves. She was in the process of unbuttoning her blouse, when she turned to Kyoko. Celestia’s worries appeared eased somewhat, as a smile crept on her face.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t realize I had an audience. If I did, I would have done that better.”

Kyoko shook her head, as Celestia proceeded to unbutton her blouse. She took it off, folded it, and placed it with the other pieces of clothing that she’d stripped off. She stood there, then, in the middle of Kyoko’s room. She want back over to Kyoko’s bed, taking Kyoko’s hands and pulling her up, so that the both of them were standing.

Celestia leaned in, lips brushing lightly against Kyoko’s, just as she guided Kyoko and wrapped her arms around her waist. Celestia smiled, her own arms reaching up and going around Kyoko’s neck, as the two of them fell deeper into the kiss. She felt Kyoko’s fingers press on her waist. Celestia gently dug her nails into Kyoko’s back.

Both pulled away to catch their breath. Kyoko’s skin was flushed, but she was as calm as ever.

“Give me a moment.”

Kyoko took off her clothes, stripping down to her underwear. Celestia, meanwhile, moved into Kyoko’s bed, going under the sheets. After a while, Kyoko turned off the lights and joined her.

The pleasantness of the proximity – the feeling of Celestia’s skin against hers, of Celestia’s legs tangled with hers, of Celestia’s fingers twined with hers – never ceased to amaze Kyoko. She wasn’t certain that she was _in love_ with Celestia, just as – she believed – Celestia wasn’t certain that she was in love with her, but Kyoko always knew that, of the many things she had experienced in Hope’s Peak, Celestia’s touch would always be regarded with high esteem.

She pulled Celestia closer at the waist, just as the other girl rested her head on Kyoko’s shoulder. They lay together in the darkness of Kyoko’s dorm room, listening to the rain fall. She could feel Celestia’s warm breath on her neck, then Celestia’s fingers, trailing down her stomach, down-

“Celestia,” Kyoko said, her tone urgent but her breath catching. She knew that Celestia knew that _she_ had her cornered. “You didn’t answer my question. I-“

Her words were cut off just as Celestia shifted to kiss her. Softly, at first, gently, and then Celestia’s lips were on her neck, on her collarbones, elsewhere, elsewhere… Celestia straddled her.

“I’m not going to talk,” she said, before leaning down to kiss Kyoko again – hungrily, this time, and aggressively, as Kyoko herself fought back, determined not to lose the game – the game they kept playing over and over, since months before. She grunted as Celestia bit her lip, and granted entrance when Celestia sought it by running her tongue against Kyoko’s lips. Kyoko’s hands were on Celestia’s back, Celestia’s waist, her hips, pulling her closer, dragging her down, and craving the contact of their bodies, craving Celestia’s lips – they sometimes tasted like tea, sometimes wine – craving _Celestia,_ and she could feel the salt of-

_Salt?_ Kyoko assumed that it was sweat, but she could feel something wet fall on her face. She cut off the kiss and slowly pushed Celestia away. The moment she met Celestia’s gaze, she knew exactly what it was.

_Tears._ Celestia was crying. She was doing an excellent job of trying not to cry, keeping her face impassive, but she was crying. Kyoko reached up, wiping one of the tears that streamed down Celestia’s face with her thumb. She opened her mouth to talk, but Celestia cut her off abruptly, her voice almost sounding venomous.

“I told you I’m not going to talk,” she hissed, but whatever hint of a threat she had in her tone was betrayed by the tremor that ran through her words, _and_ through her body. Kyoko could feel Celestia trembling.

“I wasn’t going to ask anything,” Kyoko said gently. She took a deep breath, and let Celestia lie back down beside her, holding her close. Celestia didn’t sob. She didn’t whimper. But her body shook – gently, gently, and her breathing was hitched and uneven. She balled her hands into fists. Tears fell from her face, down to Kyoko’s bare shoulder. Kyoko listened to the rain as Celestia cried.

It took a while for the other girl to calm down. It almost seemed forever, as Kyoko waited for Celestia’s breathing to become even, as she waited for Celestia’s muscles to relax. She almost thought that the girl had fallen asleep, until Celestia left a kiss on Kyoko’s neck.

They lay in silence.

“I hate to admit it, but I’m scared,” Celestia said finally, after a while.

“Scared of what?”

“For someone who’s an astute observer, you sometimes ask the most unbearable questions.”

“Hm.”

“Scared, Kyoko. Of going out. Of leaving Hope’s Peak.” Celestia heaved a sigh. “Of leaving all _this_ behind.”

They had no pretensions. Both knew that, sooner or later, their nighttime activities would end, their relationship would halt – abruptly or gradually, it didn’t matter. Once their time at Hope’s Peak ended, their current relationship would, too. Oh, certainly, they could attempt to continue, but it would be difficult. More than difficult. Kyoko would be operating on the side of the ‘good,’ on the side of truth. Celestia would be returning to her gambling. It meant irreconcilable differences – it was only because they were both students at Hope’s Peak that they managed to even start the kind of relationship they had.

That didn’t mean that neither _hoped_ to continue as they were.

And Kyoko understood the fear. She knew it, and had tried to acknowledge it, had tried to come to terms with reality just weeks ago. Graduation meant leaving the life of comfort that Hope’s Peak gave them. Graduation meant… she held Celestia closer and tighter. It meant leaving behind the only person that had make her undergo silly, unnecessary risks. She appreciated everyone in her class, but none of them had given her as much excitement – as much _life_ – as Celestia had.

Kyoko wasn’t one to lie, either, but she knew a lie could be true if she believed in it well enough. Celestia knew that, too.

“We’ll find a way,” Kyoko murmured. “Someday.” She wasn’t going to forget about Celestia the moment they left Hope’s Peak, but she knew things would never be the same.

“I… I would like to invite you to live with me, in my castle.”

Despite the feeling of anxiety that fell over her, Kyoko couldn’t help but smile. Living in a castle, surrounded by male servants dressed as vampires – that was one of Celestia’s curious dreams. No – it was _the_ dream.

“With all your vampire servants?” Kyoko asked, amused. “In such a dreary place? I’m not sure.”

“Hmph.” Celestia sighed. “I suppose I can make allowances. We can live in another castle. Some place where the sun shines… brighter.”

“I thought you weren’t fond of the sun.”

“I’m not,” Celestia said flatly. “But… But I’m willing to make allowances for you, Kyoko.”

Kyoko smiled. “Then I accept your invitation.”

Celestia let out a breath. “I would like for things to stay the same, even if they can’t,” she murmured. “Besides, it’s quite difficult to find another…” She paused. “Another A-rank person like you.”

“ _I’m_ A-rank?”

“I suppose I might be – uncharacteristically – _too_ kind. But yes.” Silence. “I might even come and say that I think I’m in love with you.”

Kyoko was surprised – such a confession, coming from Celestia, was unprecedented, and made her heart race. Kyoko swallowed hard. She was usually articulate, but finding an appropriate response to Celestia’s words rendered her speechless. Finally, she managed to find the words.

“I… In response to that, I’d like to say that I want to stay with you much, _much_ longer, Celestia.”

She felt Celestia’s hand hold hers – tight, unwilling to let go. That was all the assurance and confirmation that Kyoko needed.

Their heartbeats slowed, and both descended into a deep sleep, bodies pressed against each other under the covers.

Outside, the rain continued to fall.

**Author's Note:**

> One more thing - I don't know if it's worthy of a note, but I'd like to address Celestia's hair. Here, her insane hair is real. Okay. That is all. Carry on.


End file.
